Extreme Ghostbusters Virtual Season Episode 5 - Cat Burglar
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: March 1998: A mummy has disappeared from the Metropolitan Museum, and Pagan is in for a procedure at the vet's. When the Ghostbusters investigate the missing mummy, Kylie begins to worry that the two events are connected.
1. Chapter 1

Late one night at the New York Metropolitan Museum, two workers carried a stone sarcophagus into a room that had the words _Ancient Egyptian Exhibit_ emblazoned above the door. Panting and grumbling, they deposited the heavy coffin on a large table in the centre of the room.

'This guy weighs a ton!' one worker complained to the other as they caught their breath.

'It's the coffin that weighs a ton,' his workmate replied. 'The guy inside is nothing but thousand-year-old bandages.'

'Who the heck's he supposed to be, anyway?' said the first worker, peering at the information plaque which was already in place. ' _Pharaoh Amanhotep the Third. Subjected Ancient Egypt to a reign of tyranny and bloodshed the like of which had not been seen since the days of Rameses. Legend tells us that Amanhotep discovered the secret of eternal life, but was assassinated by his own priests before he could make himself immortal. With his dying words, he cursed all who should ever live while he himself did not, and vowed to rise from the dead to achieve his goal of eternal life._ Man, what a crock!'

'You never know,' said the second worker. 'I've heard there's something in these ancient mummy curses.'

'Come on,' the first worker scoffed, 'you don't really believe that stuff, do you?'

'I don't know, man,' said the second worker. 'But that thing sure gives me the willies, curse or no curse! Let's just bring the rest of his stuff in, then we can get out of here.'

The two workers turned their backs on the sarcophagus and left the room. In doing so, they failed to notice a green glow enveloping the casket for a few seconds. Ever so slowly, the lid began to slide back.

'It's all a bunch of superstitious hocus-pocus,' the first worker continued, as the two men came back into the room with several large jars clasped to their chests. 'Those pharaohs used to say their tombs were cursed because they didn't want people breaking in and stealing their treasure.'

'Yeah,' said the second worker, 'and then when archaeologists _did_ start breaking in and stealing their treasure, the curse was activated!'

'Bull!' said the first worker. 'And what the heck is in these jars, huh?'

'The pharaoh's vital organs,' said the second worker. 'Removing and preserving them was a big part of the burial ceremony.'

'That's just sick, man,' said the first worker.

'Not to the Ancient Egyptians,' said the second worker. 'You put the canopic jars on that shelf above the coffin, and I'll go get his mummified cat. Deal?'

'Sure,' said the first worker. 'Why did he have his cat mummified, anyways?'

'Cats were sacred in Ancient Egypt,' said the second worker. 'Everyone knows that.'

The first worker snorted disdainfully as he turned his attention to the jars. Alone in the room now, he suddenly experienced an inexplicable feeling of dread. He tried to shrug it off, but then the coffin lid crashed to the floor and a brown, bandaged hand emerged and grasped him firmly by the shoulder.

'Is everything okay?' asked the second worker as he came back into the room, cradling a mummified cat in his arms. 'I heard a crash. Oh my gosh, why did you open the casket?'

The first worker made no reply. He was still standing by the canopic jars, but in the darkened room the second worker could not see exactly what he was doing. Cautiously, the second worker approached the first. He leapt back in alarm as a canopic jar was hurled to the floor at his feet, where it burst into a thousand fragments.

'What the heck are you doing, man?' the second worker shrilled. 'You can't just... saints preserve us!'

He recoiled in horror as he saw that the first worker had the contents of the smashed jar in his mouth, and was even now in the process of swallowing them. His eyes had started to glow with an eerie green light.

'In the realm of Anubis,' the first worker growled in a deep, unnatural voice, 'it is not saints that preserve us.'

With that, he slogged the second worker under the chin and sent him flying across the room, where he crashed into a wall and slumped to the floor, unconscious. Paying him no further attention, the first worker bent down and picked up the mummified cat that had fallen to the floor.

'Now then, Isis,' he rumbled, 'let's see about finding _you_ somewhere to live forever.'

* * *

Kylie stood anxiously on one side of the examination table as the vet prodded and poked at her disgruntled cat, Pagan.

'So what seems to be the problem, Kylie?' asked the vet. 'Do you think he's got worms again?'

'No,' said Kylie. 'It's just that weird lump above his left eye.'

'Okay, let's see here,' said the vet. 'Ah yes, that certainly needs looking at.'

Kylie stood anxiously by, waiting for the vet to announce his findings.

'This is nothing too serious,' the vet announced at last, to Kylie's great relief. 'It's a fairly large abscess, but it just needs draining and disinfecting. I'll give him a worm pill too, just to be on the safe side. No cause for alarm.'

'That's good to know, Doc,' said Kylie. 'I was worried it might be cancer or something.'

'No, no – just an abscess,' the vet assured her. 'He probably got it in a fight with another cat. They often go for the eyes – a vulnerable spot, you know. Pagan must have sustained a wound above this eye and it got infected.'

'Pagan,' Kylie said admonishingly, 'I can't believe you've been fighting again.'

'Cats will be cats,' the vet laughed. 'I've got no other appointments for an hour so I can see to this right now, if you'd like.'

'That'd be great,' said Kylie, 'but I really have to get to work.'

'No problem,' said the vet. 'You can come back and pick him up any time this afternoon. He'll want to sleep for a while after the procedure anyways, so I'll make sure he's quite comfortable and leave him a light meal to eat when he wakes up properly.'

'You're not going to put him under, are you?' Kylie asked anxiously. 'I've heard horrible stories about anaesthetics accidentally killing animals.'

'That's extremely rare,' said the vet. 'But there's no need to worry anyhow – I won't be putting him under. I'll just give him a small sedative to keep him docile so he'll let me drain the abscess without ripping my hands to shreds.'

'Thanks a lot, Doc,' Kylie beamed at the vet. 'I'll see you this afternoon, then. Bye, sweetie – be good for the doctor, okay?'

Pagan threw Kylie a reproachful glance as she left the surgery, and unsheathed his claws ready to attack the vet at the first opportunity. Kylie, meanwhile, found a blue Mustang parked against the kerb just outside the surgery, apparently waiting for her.

'Hey, Kylie,' Roland's voice wafted through the window. 'Hop in.'

'What are you doing here, Roland?' Kylie asked in surprise, as she boarded the vehicle. 'I could've easily made my own way to the firehouse. Oh, not that I'm not pleased to see you.'

'Egon asked me to come get you,' said Roland. 'Janine got your message and told us where you were. There's been some kind of disturbance in the Egyptian section of the Metropolitan Museum. One of the night shift workers is in hospital, and another one's turned up missing.'

'Sounds like a case for the police,' said Kylie, 'not us.'

'The police told the museum to call us,' said Roland. 'Apparently there's a mummy gone missing as well.'

'Missing as in, maybe gone walkabout?' said Kylie.

'Could be,' Roland replied. 'We're meeting the others at the museum. Egon will fill us in on the details.'

* * *

Kylie and Roland ducked under several cordons of yellow police tape and entered the Egyptian exhibit room. Here they found Garrett and Eduardo examining the exhibits with their PKE meters, while Egon and the museum curator talked together in a corner.

'Hey, Kylie, glad you could make it,' said Garrett, shooting her a cheeky look. 'I didn't think you were going to show. Runaway mummies not interesting enough for you, huh?'

'For your information, I find all aspects of Egyptology extremely interesting,' Kylie replied, 'especially the supernatural ones. As you already know, I had to take Pagan to the veterinarian! And what makes you so sure that this mummy _has_ run away?'

'Well, he sure ain't _here_ ,' said Eduardo, withdrawing a few mouldy bandages from the sarcophagus. 'And this is where he's supposed to be, according to the delivery sheet.'

'Maybe someone stole him,' Kylie suggested.

'Could be,' said Eduardo, running his PKE meter up and down the bandages. 'I'm only getting residual traces off these ancient Band-Aids.'

'So what, you think a low-level ectoplasmic entity came in here and stole the mummy?' said Garrett. 'Why would it want to do that?'

'We can't tell anything for sure at this stage,' said Roland. 'But there's also the matter of the canopic jars, don't forget.'

'They got smashed when the mummy escaped, either on its own or by someone taking it,' said Garrett. 'There's no big mystery there.'

'Not quite correct,' Egon's voice cut into the conversation, as he came to join the other Ghostbusters. 'My concern is not how the canopic jars got broken, but what happened to their contents.'

'You mean the mummy's internal organs?' said Kylie.

'Right,' said Egon. 'The curator assures me that the jars were all intact and occupied when he saw them yesterday evening.'

'So someone took the mummy _and_ its organs,' Garrett surmised.

'Or the mummy took its own organs with it when it walked out of here,' said Eduardo.

'The important question is, where's the mummy now?' Egon continued.

'And what does it want?' Roland added. 'Or, what does someone want with it?'

'There's very little to go on here,' said Egon. 'All we can say for now is that the mummy's gone, the canopic jars have been smashed and emptied of their contents, and one single artefact has been taken from the exhibit.'

'What's that?' asked Kylie.

'A sceptre,' said Egon. 'Here, take a look – the curator gave me this photograph of it.'

Kylie took the photograph and studied it carefully, her brows creasing in thought.

'The carving on the top...' she said. 'That's Ankh.'

'Yes,' said Egon, 'the Ancient Egyptian symbol for eternal life. It's certainly a clue, though not a very helpful one at present.'

'There might be some clues at the home of the worker who's gone missing,' said Roland.

'Carter Howard,' said Egon. 'The police are checking his apartment right now, but we should definitely take a look at it as well. The curator has agreed to give us the address before we leave.'

'What about this second worker?' asked Kylie. 'Shouldn't we go to the hospital and interview him?'

'We can't,' said Eduardo. 'The dude's in a coma.'

'You'd know that if you'd been here on time, like the rest of us,' Garrett teased.

'We'll certainly talk to him as soon as he comes round,' said Egon. ' _If_ he comes round, that is. In the meantime, I want Kylie and Eduardo to get over to Carter Howard's apartment in the Ecto-1 and conduct a thorough search.'

'What, you mean like look for evidence that he's selling crusty old mummies on the black market?' said Eduardo.

'Possibly,' said Egon. 'Just see what you can find that might be relevant to this case, if anything. Roland and Garrett, I want you to dig up all the information you can about the mummy – exactly where and when it was exhumed, and everywhere it's been between that time and now. I'll do some research on this Amanhotep character, and find out if he's really as bad as his plaque says.'

At that point, the curator came back into the room. He handed Egon a small card with the missing worker's address on it, which Egon immediately passed on to Kylie.

'One more thing before you go, Dr Spengler,' said the curator. 'Some of my staff have been going over the inventory and they've found another missing artefact. It wasn't here in the exhibit room, but it was in storage with the mummy and the canopic jars.'

'And what was that?' Egon prompted him.

'The pharaoh's mummified cat,' said the curator.

* * *

Kylie and Eduardo had been standing outside Carter Howard's apartment for the greater part of two minutes, waiting for someone to answer their knock.

'Guess he's not home,' said Eduardo.

'Guess he isn't,' said Kylie, and tried the door handle.

'What are you doing?' asked Eduardo.

'What's it look like?' Kylie returned, as the door swung open. 'Bingo. Come on.'

'But we can't,' Eduardo said uneasily, glancing up and down the hallway to check that no one was watching them.

'Sure we can,' said Kylie. 'Don't be a wuss, Eduardo.'

'Hey, I ain't no wuss,' Eduardo scowled, pushing past Kylie into the apartment. 'Okay, let's see what this guy's hiding in here.'

They split up and searched the apartment, but there was nothing much to see. While Kylie was searching the living room, she was alarmed by a scurrying noise just behind her. She whirled around to see a gerbil in a cage, climbing into an activity wheel. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her own jumpiness. Then she noticed that a green file with the words _Verne's Medical Records_ had been left open on the table beside the cage. Curious, she went over to take a look.

' _Nada_ in the bedroom,' Eduardo reported as he came into the living room. 'Well, there's all the usual stuff, but... what have you got there?'

'Medical records for the guy's gerbil,' said Kylie. 'Verne the Gerbil.'

'I don't think that's the kind of information Egon wants,' said Eduardo.

'It could be,' Kylie said evasively, still flicking through the file.

'The dude's got a gerbil,' said Eduardo. 'So what?'

'So look what I've found in with all these papers from the veterinarian,' said Kylie, looking up at him and revealing a short length of mouldy brown bandage clasped in her hand.

'The mummy's been here!' Eduardo deduced. 'And he's been... looking at the gerbil's medical records?'

'Looks like it,' said Kylie. 'Check this bandage for ecto traces.'

Eduardo took the bandage from her and ran his PKE meter over it. He nodded.

'Same as the readings in the sarcophagus?' asked Kylie.

'Exactly the same,' said Eduardo.

'So the mummy's been here... or Howard has been doing something to the mummy here... and the gerbil's medical records are somehow important,' Kylie surmised, flicking through the green file again. 'Oh my gosh! The gerbil's registered with the same veterinarian as Pagan.'

'I don't know what a veterinarian could have to do with all this,' said Eduardo.

'Neither do I, yet,' said Kylie, scanning the living room one more time. 'Hey, that computer's been left on! The monitor's switched off, but...'

Kylie went to the computer and turned on the monitor. Eduardo came to join her as she scrolled through the internet window that had flashed up.

'This is Streetmap-dot-com,' said Kylie. 'Someone's been planning a route from here to the vet's surgery! This is really weird.'

'I'll say,' Eduardo agreed. 'Why would a runaway mummy want to go to a vet? Do you think he needs some kind of emergency surgery, or something? Like, maybe he wants to get his organs sewn back in?'

'I suppose it's possible,' said Kylie. 'Eduardo, I'm starting to feel a little uneasy. I left Pagan at that surgery a couple of hours ago... I really want to go and pick him up... right now.'

'We should report back to Egon first,' said Eduardo. 'He'll probably want to check out the surgery himself.'

'Egon can wait,' said Kylie. 'I need to get Pagan.'

'I guess if the mummy's really gone to the vet's, we might catch up with him there and maybe even trap him,' said Eduardo. 'I'm sure Egon wouldn't want us to let him get away.'

'If we find the mummy there and we manage to trap him, fine,' said Kylie. 'Whatever, I just need to get Pagan.'

* * *

The vet looked up from his desk as Kylie entered the surgery.

'I've come to collect Pagan,' she said.

'Yes... yes, of course you have,' the vet replied. 'Well, I'm not sure this is such a good time...'

'Is he okay?' Kylie asked sharply. 'There wasn't a problem with the operation, was there?'

'Don't worry; Pagan's fine,' the vet assured her. 'I drained the abscess and gave him an injection of antibiotics, but he's still sleeping off the sedative so it might be best to leave him for a few more hours.'

'He can sleep at home,' said Kylie. 'I'm sure he'd prefer to wake up in his favourite chair instead of one of your cages.'

'Yes, I... I suppose he would,' the vet was forced to agree.

'So can you give him to me, please?' Kylie said irritably. 'What did you do with his basket? I left it here, beside the counter.'

'Here it is,' said the vet, producing Pagan's carrier from under the desk. 'I'll, er... I'll just go and get Pagan to put in it, then.'

'You do that,' said Kylie, narrowing her eyes at him.

As the vet shuffled out to the back room, the door to the street opened and Eduardo entered the surgery.

'What's the hold-up?' he asked.

'I'm not sure,' said Kylie. 'He's gone to get Pagan, but he's sure acting strange.'

'You think he knows anything about the mummy?' said Eduardo.

'Wouldn't surprise me,' said Kylie. 'There's definitely something going on here.'

The vet returned from the back room, carrying the sleeping Pagan in his arms. Kylie opened the cat carrier, and the vet lowered the animal inside. Kylie snapped the lid shut, and shot the vet a suspicious glance over the top.

'You seen any other animals this morning, man?' Eduardo asked him.

'Er... one or two, after Pagan's operation,' the vet replied.

'How about a gerbil,' said Kylie, 'have you seen one of those?'

'Er... a gerbil?' the vet replied uneasily.

'Yeah, one by the name of Verne,' said Eduardo. 'Or maybe you've seen his owner, Carter Howard?'

'I don't know anyone by that name!' the vet blurted.

'We know his gerbil is a patient of yours,' said Kylie. 'We thought he might've been here this morning.'

'Well, you thought wrong,' said the vet. 'Even if this man does have a pet registered here, doesn't mean I have all his personal details memorised! Maybe I _have_ treated his gerbil, I don't know! But he definitely hasn't been here this morning – no one has!'

'What about the "one or two" animals you saw after Pagan?' Eduardo asked.

'No one except them!' the vet squeaked. 'I saw a dog and a monitor lizard – no gerbil! Now please, you have to leave.'

'All right,' said Kylie, still looking at him with piercing, suspicious eyes. 'I've got what I came for. See you again, Dr Poole... see you real soon.'

Kylie turned on her heel and flounced from the surgery, Eduardo holding the door for her as her arms were full. The vet watched through the window as Kylie put the cat basket on the backseat of the Ecto-1, before she and Eduardo climbed into the front and the vehicle sped away.

* * *

'You gave her my cat.'

The vet turned to stare in trepidation at the tall, red-eyed figure that was now emerging from the back room, leaning on the stolen Ankh-topped sceptre like a walking stick.

'But it's her cat too!' the vet twittered. 'I couldn't refuse to let her have it – she would've gotten suspicious!'

'I don't see how she could fail to get suspicious, the way you were carrying on,' King Amanhotep the Third growled through the mouth of Carter Howard. 'I told you I needed a cat; you gave me a cat. This pleased me. Then you gave the cat to that scrawny girl. This did not please me at all!'

'We... we can use another cat!' the vet squeaked in alarm. 'One's bound to be brought in soon, or we could find a stray...'

'I don't want a stray!' Amanhotep roared. 'Only a healthy, well cared for specimen will do for my Isis to spend eternity in! Besides, it's too late now – the ritual is complete. Isis is inside that cat – Pagan – and now I shall be forced to go to the trouble of retrieving him. You have caused me this trouble, animal physician, and you will pay for doing that!'

'You... you do know what Kylie's job is, don't you?' the vet said nervously. 'Are you sure you want to go after her and try to steal her cat?'

'It is my cat now, and I _will_ take it back!' Amanhotep insisted. 'I have no interest in the former owner's job, I assure you.'

'But she's a Ghostbuster!' said the vet. 'So's that guy she was in here with, by the look of him. They drove off together in the Ghostbusters' car, anyways.'

'And why should I be afraid of these Ghostbusters, as you call them?' Amanhotep demanded.

'Because... because... well, you're a ghost, aren't you?' the vet reasoned. 'Or a zombie or a living mummy or whatever you're supposed to be.'

'So?'

'So... well, they might bust you. They seem to be interested in you already. You heard them asking about the man whose body you've stolen, didn't you?'

'I heard them,' Amanhotep confirmed, 'and I really could not care less! Ghostbuster or not, this Kylie will not stop me from reclaiming my cat! You can find her address on that computer of yours, can't you? Give it to me, now.'

'No, I can't do that,' said the vet. 'I... I won't do that!'

'If you want to keep your intestines inside your body, you _will_ do that!' Amanhotep growled, taking a threatening step forward.

'Okay, okay,' the vet shrilled in alarm, turning his attention to his computer. 'Okay, let's see, patient records... owners... G... Griffin... yes, there she is. I'll print off her details for you.'

'And show me how to get to where she lives using Streetmap-dot-com!' Amanhotep ordered.

'I can't do that!' the vet wailed.

'You dare to refuse me?'

'No, it's not that! It's just, I don't have the internet here! I can't afford it!'

'Useless!' Amanhotep growled, as he ripped Kylie's details from the printer. 'I'll have to find the information myself – this delay will cost me precious time! And now you will pay for all the inconvenience you have caused me, wretch!'

'No!' the vet grovelled. 'Please, no! I've been useful to you! I gave you a cat! I gave you Kylie's address, even though it could cost me my veterinary licence!'

'It will cost you a good deal more than that,' Amanhotep chuckled. 'Still, I suppose you're right – you were of some help to me... in the end.'

With that, the mummy held out his hand and sent a stream of mouldy bandages straight at the vet. Dr Poole screamed and clawed at his face as the bandages began to encircle him, but his efforts were in vain. After half a minute Amanhotep withdrew his hand and the vet fell to the floor behind his desk, completely mummified.


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the firehouse, everyone came back together as planned to compare notes. Slimer floated around between them, hoping to get some attention from somebody.

'...so then we took Pagan back home and came straight here,' Kylie said.

'Fascinating,' said Egon. 'Clearly this mummy has been awakened from the dead somehow, and Carter Howard is involved. Either they are working together or the mummy has enslaved him in some way.'

'But why would they want to visit a veterinarian?' said Roland.

'Maybe to get some flea powder,' said Garrett. 'Those gnarly old bandages could be infested!'

'It must have something to do with this eternal life deal that the mummy's looking for,' said Kylie. 'His plaque at the museum says that he vowed to return from the dead and live forever, and I bet that's just what he's trying to do.'

'I thought maybe he wanted to get the veterinarian to sew his organs back in or something,' said Eduardo.

'Yes, that's certainly a possibility,' said Egon. 'Clearly there's more to be discovered at this vet surgery – you two only skimmed the surface.'

'Hey, we had to get Pagan out of there!' said Kylie.

'I didn't intend to criticise,' Egon told her. 'You've done well.'

'So, just hold up a minute,' said Garrett. 'This mummy from prehistoric Egypt knows how to work a computer, does he?'

'Carter Howard knows how to work a computer,' said Egon.

'Oh yeah, and they're working together,' said Garrett.

'Maybe the dude's possessed by the mummy, man,' said Eduardo.

'That's certainly possible,' said Egon. 'In that case, the mummy would have access to certain knowledge and experiences in Howard's brain.'

'Just like when I was possessed by Achira,' said Kylie, earning herself a strange look from Eduardo.

'So... if the mummy's in the guy's body, what happened to the mummy body that went missing from the museum?' asked Garrett.

'It could have followed the essence inside the host body,' said Roland. 'Sometimes the mind and body are so inextricably linked that one follows the other wherever it goes, even in cases of demonic possession. I read a case in _Tobin's Spirit Guide_ where –'

'All right, let's leave this subject for now,' Egon broke in. 'This is all speculation and it's not really helping us with the case. Roland, why don't you tell us what you found out about the mummy's history?'

'And the daddy's history?' Slimer suggested hopefully, annoyed that no one was taking any notice of him.

'Yes, thank you, Slimer,' Egon said patiently. 'We only want to know about the mummy for now.'

'We managed to run up a full history,' Roland reported. 'The mummified remains of King Amanhotep the Third were dug up in the Valley of the Kings in nineteen twenty-six. They spent the next seventy years lying in a storage vault under a museum in Cairo.'

'Cairo...' said Eduardo. 'That's in Egypt.'

'Exactly right, Eduardo,' said Roland. 'A couple of years ago there was a lot of renewed interest in Amanhotep amongst the world's leading Egyptologists, and several museums around the globe put in bids to buy the mummy.'

'I guess New York won,' said Kylie.

'Or maybe we lost,' said Eduardo.

'But if Amanhotep was in Cairo for seventy years, why didn't he escape from his coffin and go after eternal life in Egypt?' asked Kylie.

'We wondered the same thing,' said Garrett, 'so we asked the museum curator what state the sarcophagus was in when it arrived.'

'What did he say,' said Eduardo, 'New York?'

'No, I don't think he really has a sense of humour,' said Garrett. 'But he told us there was a seal on the side of the coffin that got broken off while the mummy was being transported from the docks to the museum, so we thought maybe it had been keeping him inside.'

'What was it made of?' asked Eduardo.

'Just beeswax, but it wasn't the material that was keeping him in,' said Roland. 'Apparently there was a symbol on the seal – we thought it might've been _that_.'

'Yes,' said Kylie, 'another example of imprisonment symbols or incantations acting in conjunction with a confining structure.'

'It's very possible,' Egon nodded, crossing over to his computer desk. 'Did the curator describe the symbol on the seal to you, or show you a picture of it?'

'Yeah, he showed us a photograph of the coffin when it was about to be shipped from Cairo,' said Garrett. 'The symbol was like a kind of tower, with different levels...'

'Did it look anything like this, by any chance?' Egon asked, showing a computer printout to Roland and Garrett.

'I dunno, kinda,' said Garrett.

'Yes, it did,' said Roland decisively. 'That's the exact symbol, Egon. What is it?'

'It's called Djed,' said Egon. 'I came across it during my research. It symbolises the order and harmony that's achieved when life runs into death, like it's supposed to. It's sometimes known as the Spine of Osiris.'

'Osiris,' said Kylie. 'He's the Egyptian God of the Dead, right?'

'Right,' said Egon. 'You could say that Djed is the opposite of Ankh, which – as I'm sure you remember – represents eternal life and therefore goes against what most would think of as the natural order of life and death... at least when someone's trying to use it to achieve eternal life in _this_ world, at any rate. Amanhotep's priests knew what they were doing when they sealed him in that coffin – Djed kept him dead, but without it...'

'He found a way to _Ankh_ -er himself back to the living world, huh?' said Garrett.

'Ankh-er,' Eduardo tutted. 'That's terrible, man.'

'Oh, and I suppose you've got a better one?' Garrett scowled.

'Sure I have,' said Eduardo. 'I, er... I'll let you know when I think of it.'

'Egon, did you find out anything else about Amanhotep?' asked Kylie.

'Nothing we didn't already know,' said Egon. 'The plaque says it all, really. Clearly he's trying to achieve his goal of eternal life, and clearly we need to stop him.'

'So what's our next step?' asked Garrett. 'I hate to bring the real world into the conversation, but I'm supposed to be in a lecture in twenty minutes. I'd much rather be kicking mummy butt, but I'll get flunked if I don't show.'

'I'm supposed to be in class right now,' said Eduardo, 'and I've probably been flunked already.'

'I'd like to go home and check on Pagan,' said Kylie. 'He's probably waking up about now and I want to make sure he's okay and give him something light to eat.'

'You three should go and do those things,' said Egon. 'In the meantime, I'll go back to the museum and then pay a visit to this veterinary surgery of yours, Kylie. Roland, are you free to come with me?'

'Sure ,' said Roland.

'We'll report back later this afternoon and try to come up with a plan of action,' said Egon. 'Everyone okay to be back here at five?'

'Sure thing,' said Garrett.

'Fine,' said Kylie.

'I'll have to duck out of a seminar early, but I'll be here,' said Eduardo. 'Oh, hey, I know! Amanhotep woke up in New York and he was all like, "Hey, I ain't gonna hang around being dead anymore, _Ankh_ you very much"!'

'Garrett's was better,' said Roland.

'Much better,' said Kylie.

'I have to concur,' said Egon.

'Bad joke, Eduardo,' Slimer added.

'Okay, okay,' Eduardo mumbled. 'But I swear I'll think of a better one before this is all over!'

* * *

Kylie watched anxiously as Pagan inspected the dish of leftover chicken that she had just placed in front of him. He sniffed all around it before taking a tentative bite. He then looked up at Kylie with large, reproachful eyes.

'I know it's not very exciting, but you're only supposed to have something light while you're still shaking off the sedative,' Kylie said apologetically. 'Come on, eat it up, then I'll give you your dry food back.'

Pagan had for some seconds been eyeing the red dish of dry food that Kylie had placed on top of the refrigerator. He was clearly considering trying to scale the fridge, but as there was no easy way for him to reach the top, he decided to return his attention to the chicken.

'That's right,' Kylie said encouragingly. 'You're not getting anything else until you've had at least three quarters of that!'

At that moment there came an urgent rapping on the front door of the apartment. Pagan looked towards it and hissed, his ears well back, which came as something of a surprise to Kylie as she had never seen him react this way to a visitor before. Cautiously, she went to the front door and slid the security chain into place, before easing it open ever so slightly.

'Yes?' she said guardedly.

'Hello,' said the average-looking man who was standing on the other side. 'My name is Carter Howard. You and I share a veterinarian, I believe.'

'Yes, I think we do,' said Kylie. 'What do you want?'

'Come now, Kylie,' the visitor chuckled, 'let's not be coy with each other. I think you ought to let me in, don't you?'

'No,' Kylie replied firmly, 'I don't!'

She tried to slam the door in his face, but she suddenly found herself hurtling backwards as the security chain snapped in half and the door flew open. Amanhotep stepped casually into Kylie's apartment, closing the door behind him as he came.

'Well then, perhaps you don't,' the mummy said calmly. 'Perhaps you have no idea who or what I am!'

'Sure I do,' said Kylie, righting herself as quickly as she could. 'You're King Amanhotep the Third and you've borrowed the body of museum worker Carter Howard.'

'I haven't borrowed it!' Amanhotep declared. 'I'm going to live in it forever!'

'We'll see about that,' said Kylie. 'Anyway, I _do_ know who and what you are but I don't know what you're doing here!'

'I've come for my cat, of course,' Amanhotep told her.

'You mean Pagan?' Kylie said shrilly, unable to conceal her alarm.

'I mean Isis,' Amanhotep corrected.

'The only cat in this apartment is Pagan,' Kylie said firmly. ' _My_ Pagan!'

'There is no Pagan,' Amanhotep grinned nastily, 'only Isis!'

'Is that what you were doing at the vet's?' said Kylie, as the penny dropped. 'You were putting your cat inside mine, so that he can have a living body like the one you've stolen for yourself?'

'Not just a living body,' said Amanhotep. 'An eternal body, thanks to my own particular skills.'

He caressed the Ankh sceptre in his hand. Kylie's glance moved quickly from this to the kitchen, where there was no longer any sign of Pagan.

'I must congratulate you on looking after your cat so well, Kylie,' Amanhotep continued. 'He is in perfect physical condition – the ideal host for mine! Now, if you're sensible and give him to me straightaway then I'll show a little class and leave quietly. But if you're foolish, and you don't...'

Kylie dived for the telephone, but Amanhotep was too quick for her. He shot out his hand and Kylie found her wrist constrained by a trail of mouldy bandage.

'I don't think so,' said Amanhotep. 'We don't want you getting any help from your Ghostbuster friends, do we? Where is the cat, Kylie?'

'He... he... he's not in the bathroom!' Kylie blurted out desperately. 'I know for sure he's not in there!'

Somewhat to her surprise, Kylie's frantic ploy worked. She felt the grip on her wrist slacken as Amanhotep turned towards the open door of the bathroom. Quick as lightning, she snatched up the telephone receiver by her bed and dialled the first number that came into her mind.

'NO!' Amanhotep roared, shaking all the glass in the windows of the apartment. 'Clearly you are not nearly so sensible as I had supposed!'

Kylie cried out in alarm as she was pulled off her feet and went crashing to the floor. She looked down to see that her ankles were encased in sinuous bandages, which were rapidly snaking their way up her legs. She became aware that Amanhotep was now looming over her. She instinctively shielded her face as his hands – claw-like now – reached out, but instead of attacking Kylie herself the mummy wrenched the telephone from the wall socket and sent it flying across the room.

'You've only got yourself to blame!' the mummy declared. 'We could have settled this relatively amicably, but now... now you've awoken a terrible hunger inside me... and it must be sated!'

Kylie cried out in frustration and alarm as she clawed at the bandages that were rapidly enveloping her, but to no avail. She felt them encircling her legs and pulling themselves taut, before they snaked all around her lower body and started to reach up her back.

'You... you... you won't...' Kylie panted, struggling to find the energy to keep fighting the bandages. 'You'll never... argh!'

She suddenly found herself struggling for breath as the bandages tautened themselves around the lower portion of her ribcage. Just as she was starting to feel that she really was about to be suffocated, the bandages came to an abrupt halt just below her chest. With a pass of Amanhotep's hand, the bandages that bound her ankles suddenly raised themselves up into the air. Kylie screamed as she was dragged with them, finally finding herself hanging upside-down just in front of Amanhotep's grinning face.

'Well now,' he whispered, 'isn't this a delightful situation? I can't help but wonder exactly where it's going to lead...'

* * *

Eduardo listened in alarm to the sounds of disarray that were coming out of the earpiece of his cell phone. When the line abruptly went dead, he removed the device from his ear and read the caller display on the screen: _KYLIE – Home_.

'I have to be excused!' Eduardo declared, rising quickly to his feet. 'Right now!'

'But I'm in the middle of my lecture!' the irate university professor at the front of the auditorium objected.

'Sorry, man, but I have to go!' Eduardo insisted. 'It's an emergency... at least, it _could_ be an emergency... and I need to find out, right now!'

'Mr Rivera, you can't afford to miss any more time on this course!' the lecturer insisted.

'No,' Eduardo called back as he fled from the room, 'I can't afford _not_ to!'

* * *

'Egon!' Eduardo cried shrilly, as he burst into the firehouse. 'Egon, are you here?'

'Yes, I'm here,' Egon replied, peering around the open hood of the Ecto-1. 'Is something wrong?'

'Something's _definitely_ wrong, man!' Eduardo panted, leaning against the car for support. 'I mean, it could be... maybe. We need to get to Kylie's place right now! Is Roland here? Can he take me in his car?'

'I left Roland at the museum,' said Egon, 'but we can go in the Ecto-1 – I've just finished replacing a faulty gasket. What's going on?'

'I don't know, man,' said Eduardo, 'but Kylie called me and I heard panting and running and crashing and I think maybe screaming, and we need to get to her place right now!'

'Hmm, it appears we do,' Egon agreed. 'Could this have something to do with the vet? I wonder...'

'Come on, man, let's go!' Eduardo shrilled.

'Eduardo, you're panicking,' said Egon. 'That's not going to help Kylie, whatever's going on. Pull yourself together and grab two proton packs from the locker. I have a trap here, and I think I'll also bring the Djed sceptre I acquired from the museum – it may prove useful.'

Eduardo did as he was told. He opened one of the back doors of the Ecto-1 to put the proton packs inside, but jumped back in alarm at the sight that met his eyes.

'Why is there a mummy on the backseat of the Ecto, man?' he squeaked.

'What? Oh, that,' said Egon. 'It's the veterinarian. At least, I feel fairly safe in assuming it to be him.'

'Dr Poole? But... but...'

'I found him like that at his surgery,' said Egon, tossing the trap onto the vet's mummified chest and then jumping into the driving seat. 'Come on, throw in those packs and we'll be on our way.'

Again, Eduardo automatically followed Egon's instructions. Taking one last look at the mummified form under the ghostbusting equipment, Eduardo slammed the back door and hopped into the passenger seat.

'That... that's the vet?' Eduardo boggled. 'But I... I don't...'

'Neither do I,' said Egon, 'but I've a feeling we soon will.'

With that, Egon switched on the Ecto-1's lights and sirens and sent the vehicle accelerating out of the firehouse at breakneck speed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kylie was still hanging upside-down in the middle of the room, all but completely mummified. Only her mouth and eyes were visible between the bandages.

'Where is he?' Amanhotep yelled. 'Where is my cat?'

'I... I'll never help you!' Kylie shouted back at him. 'You'll never get me to... argh, no!'

Amanhotep had raised his right hand and was now drawing his fingers towards the palm. The bandages around Kylie's chest mirrored this movement, squeezing her ribcage and lungs to an almost unbearable degree.

'You will help me, or you will die,' Amanhotep stated. 'Or, you will help me and _then_ you will die. It depends how I feel after you've helped me... so help me NOW!'

As far as she was able, Kylie shook her head. Amanhotep sneered and clenched his fingers together, eliciting an agonised scream from Kylie. Then the front door rattled on its hinges as Eduardo and Egon entered the room, wielding proton packs and a Djed sceptre.

'Let her go!' Eduardo yelled.

'I don't think so,' Amanhotep chuckled. 'No!'

'I'm not gonna tell you twice, man!'

Eduardo shot a full power proton stream at Amanhotep, who immediately started snarling and writhing. Kylie fell to the floor, still mummified and motionless. Eduardo immediately cut off his proton stream and ran into the kitchenette, from where he quickly picked up the largest, sharpest knife he could find.

He returned to the living room area to find Egon holding Amanhotep in another proton stream, and Kylie still collapsed on the floor. Dashing over to her, Eduardo carefully but quickly forced the knife in between a gap in the bandages around Kylie's chest. He dragged it downwards in a sweeping motion, cutting a long slit from her chest to her waist. Immediately she began to draw in massive lungfuls of air, panting and gasping for dear life.

'Eduardo,' she gasped. 'I...'

'Don't try to talk,' said Eduardo. 'Get your breath back first.'

'Eduardo, I could do with a second stream on him,' Egon called across the room. 'I think he's about to –'

But there was no need for Egon to finish the sentence as Amanhotep managed to manoeuvre his Ankh sceptre into the proton stream, diverting it away from himself. Egon staggered backwards and cut off the stream, whereupon Eduardo fired at the mummy once again. This time, however, he found his stream deflecting off the Ankh sceptre at once.

'Pitiful fools!' Amanhotep sneered. 'You can't destroy me – no one can! They tried, didn't they? You know they did. Yet here I am, and here I always shall be!'

'Eduardo, we both fire together!' Egon ordered.

'No, wait!' said Eduardo, thrusting his proton pack at Kylie. 'Fire the beams through the Djed sceptre!'

He leapt to retrieve the sceptre from where Egon had dropped it. He held it up above his head, and nodded to Egon.

'I'm sure this'll work!' he insisted, as Amanhotep's deadly bandages began to snake their way around his legs. 'If Ankh is protecting him and Djed is the opposite, and it kept him dead all those centuries, it'll work just like the Sceptre of Donar!'

'If you're sure you want to risk –' said Egon.

'Do it, man!' Eduardo interrupted.

Egon fired a proton stream at the Djed sceptre; Eduardo immediately directed it onto Amanhotep. A second proton stream joined it, as Kylie fired the gun that Eduardo had given her.

'No!' Amanhotep screamed. 'You cannot do this! I won't let you!'

He attempted to raise his Ankh sceptre once again, but a small furry blur suddenly appeared as if from nowhere and knocked it out of his hand.

'Pagan!' Kylie exclaimed.

'He'll get caught in the proton streams!' said Eduardo. 'Quick, shut them off!'

'No, it's okay!' said Kylie. 'He's got Amanhotep's cat inside him – we _want_ him in the proton streams!'

Egon nodded, and increased his stream to full power. Without the symbol of Ankh to protect them, Amanhotep and his cat were quickly forced from the bodies of Carter Howard and Pagan, which both dropped to the floor. Naturally, Pagan landed on his feet and immediately began to wash himself in a very casual manner. Carter Howard, meanwhile, landed flat on his face in a very uncomfortable, sprawling position and decided to stay like that until the warzone around him showed signs of dying down.

'Did you bring a trap?' said Kylie.

'I've got it,' said Egon. 'Can you hold them?'

Kylie nodded, and Egon shut off his stream. He reached behind him and unclipped the trap from his belt, before opening it and throwing it into the centre of the room. Kylie and Eduardo both adjusted their positions slightly, and the flailing spirits of the pharaoh and his cat were sucked into the ghost trap, which immediately clanged shut. The two mummified bodies that had previously held them dropped from the air.

'I suppose the museum will want those back,' Egon remarked, 'along with the two sceptres.'

'I guess Amanhotep and Isis will get to live together forever after all,' said Kylie, picking up the trap. 'In the containment dimension!'

'Best place for them,' said Eduardo.

'Eduardo, I...' said Kylie, coming over to him but avoiding his gaze. 'I don't know how I can ever... thanks.'

'Are your hands okay?' asked Egon.

'They've been worse,' said Eduardo, placing a reassuring hand on Kylie's shoulder.

'We'd better get you checked out at the hospital, just to be safe,' said Egon. 'The same goes for you, Kylie. And you, Mr Howard.'

The museum worker had now dragged himself to his feet, and was staring around the room in complete bewilderment.

'What the heck is going on here?' he said helplessly. 'Argh, it's the mummy! Look out – it's alive!'

'No, it's not,' said Kylie. 'Not anymore.'

'You've been possessed, Mr Howard,' said Egon. 'I'll explain it all to you in the car.'

'Gee, thanks,' said the museum worker.

'Pagan, that was brave of you to leap in and save the day like that,' said Kylie, reaching down to stroke her pet. 'I guess Isis didn't have total control of your mind, like Amanhotep thought. You weren't even acting possessed when you woke up from your sedative, were you? I guess maybe it would've taken a bit more time for your mind to be taken over.'

'Either that, or he was just acting like a cat,' said Egon. 'I can imagine that a cat possessed by another cat might well do that.'

'No,' said Kylie, 'Pagan knew exactly what he was doing the whole time.'

'That's more than I did,' said Eduardo.

Kylie gave him a small smile. 'You did even better than Pagan,' she told him.

* * *

Eduardo helped Kylie to climb into the backseat of the Ecto-1, where she sat beside Carter Howard and the recently liberated veterinarian, both of whom were in a state of shock.

'A mummy in my surgery...' the vet was muttering. 'Of all the terrible things that can happen to a veterinarian... oh Kylie, you won't sue me for giving the mummy your address, will you?'

'Don't worry, Dr Poole,' said Kylie, 'I'm not going to sue you. Ooh, my ribs!'

'The Ecto-1's so full of invalids that people might mistake it for an ambulance,' said Eduardo, as he climbed into the front seat.

'That would be most unfortunate,' said Egon, putting down the radio into which he had just been speaking. 'The hospital is expecting us. We'll also be able to fill in and reassure the second museum worker, who came out of his coma about an hour ago.'

'Oh, that's excellent news,' said Kylie. 'Everyone's okay in the end... well, alive anyway.'

'Yeah,' said Eduardo. 'That Amanhotep dude thought he was gonna come back to life and take over people's bodies and kill people and goodness knows what else, but with the Ghostbusters around, he should never've _Ankh_ -ed on it. Is that it? Is that the one, huh?'

'I think we'll have to let Garrett be the judge of that when we meet up with him and Roland at the hospital,' said Egon.

'I disagree,' said Kylie. 'Eduardo's come out on top in my book.'


End file.
